Boho Cruise!
by ProfessionalxDaydreamer
Summary: Our favorite bohemians meet on a cruise. On it, they make lasting friendships, fall in love, and cause tons of drama. AU, Teen, rated K for now, though rating may change. Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: This new fic came from a dream. Don't ask.**

**So, basically, it's AU, and teen. Which I tend to do quite often. HOWEVER! I will be attempting something else this time...writing ALL of the bohemians. Yes, even Mimi and Roger (a little bit). So, basically, the bohos all meet on a cruise. Random, but...the point is...none of them can leave! *cackles* **

**This first chapter is pretty much exclusively Mark/Maureen/Joanne (with a dash of Roger), but the characters will (hopefully) be evenly distributed over several chapters. Enjoy, and reviewww!**

________________________________________________

**Chapter One**

.x.

Sixteen-year-old Mark Cohen watched in fascination as the kid in front of him loaded his plate with tons of food-- mashed potatoes, chicken wings, and other assorted unhealthy grub. The kid in front of him was Roger Davis, Mark's best friend since kindergarten.

He looked behind him, at his mother, who was staring at the entire buffet line like it was something she'd never seen before. She gingerly put a small amount of salad on her plate, shuddering at all of the crap that Roger was planning to eat.

As Mark attempted to grab a piece of pizza, his mother's hand slapped his away. "Now, Mark, darling. Even though we're on a cruise, I still want you to eat your vegetables." He looked at the pizza forlornly, begrudgingly putting lettuce leaves on his plate.

Roger grinned at him menacingly, grabbing a heavenly-looking brownie and throwing it on top of everything on his plate.

"Lucky," Mark muttered as he and Roger found a small booth, placing their trays on the table top. Mark sat down. "Dear, make sure you don't wander too far!" Mrs. Cohen called, causing Mark to cringe. She, his dad, and his little sister, Cindy, sat down at a table on the other side of the room.

"So, pretty sweet that your parents let me come with you," Roger said idly, gnawing on a piece of chicken. Mark nodded, grabbing another piece from Roger's plate.

"Well, Mom felt bad for me. Besides, all of Cindy's friends are here, and they didn't want me to be lonely, or whatever. Not my fault she has to have her stupid Bat Mitzvah party on a boat."

Roger shrugged. "They can afford it."

Mark rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well...My party was at the Jewish Community Center, remember? I'm sure it cost a lot," he said sarcastically. "Cindy's the favorite."

Roger shrugged. "There were some hot chicks there," he said.

Mark looked confused. "Roger, they were just a bunch of twelve and thirteen year old girls. The only girl who _really _stood out was Nanette..."

His eyes glazed over, and Roger prepared himself for Mark's usual Nanette-rant. He'd been completely in love with her since the seventh grade, and though she'd once taught him to dance, she wouldn't give him the time of day anymore.

Before Mark could go on, however, the band, which was situated at the front of the room, stopped playing. A man in a suit bent down and said something into the piano player's ear, and he nodded.

The man in the suit approached the microphone with a smile. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen. We have a very special surprise for you tonight. A lovely young lady has requested to perform a song with the band. Give it up for Maureen Johnson!"

The diners in the room all clapped lightly, rolling their eyes at yet another teenage girl who probably thought she was all that and a bag of chips. The girl in question, Maureen, stepped to the front of the stage, adjusting the microphone slightly. She looked about his and Roger's age, Mark noted. She wore a casual-looking sundress, and Mark could see the straps of her bathing suit top; which was appropriate for a cruise. She was barefoot, and had curly, disheveled chestnut hair.

Maureen smiled widely, and Mark's jaw dropped. This girl was gorgeous. _Nanette who? _He took in her curves, the parts of her that were hard to ignore. She turned away from the microphone, faintly asking the pianist if he knew a certain song.

He nodded and started playing a moderate tune, swaying to the bouncy-sounding beat.

"_What good is sitting alone in your room?" _Maureen sang, and the entire room had her attention. She winked at a random person in the audience, working the stage. "_Come hear the music play! Life is a cabaret, old chum! Come to the cabaret."_

_"I used to have a girlfriend known as Elsie, with whom I shared four sordid rooms in Chelsea. The day she died, the neighbors came to snicker..well, that's what comes of too much pills and liquor!" _Mark's jaw dropped open as he heard her unusually mature voice reverberate through the dining hall, and there was complete silence amongst the crowd.

When she finished with a high note, her strong voice belting out the lyrics, she bowed and grinned, her cheeks flushed with exertion. Mark knew just two things: The first was that this girl was going to be famous. The second was that he _had _to meet her.

.x.

Joanne sat with her elbows resting on the tabletop, bored stiff. Her parents had dragged her on this cruise with them, though they were only going for a convention that would probably turn out to be as boring as the . Her parents were rich lawyers, and Joanne couldn't remember the last time she'd actually spent quality time with them.

She had thought that by going on this cruise, even though she'd be alone most of the time, would help strengthen her and her parents' relationship. Unfortunately, that prospect looked very dim. Joanne's mother stood in a corner, talking to a dressed-up woman. That left Joanne and her father, both of them picking awkwardly at their food, each not knowing what to say to the other.

Before either of them broke the silence, though, Joanne was snapped out of her reverie by a voice. It wasn't just a regular voice, though.

It was the sexiest, most gorgeous, perfectly-trained voice Joanne had ever heard, and it came from the stage at the front of the dining hall.

Joanne looked at the girl in question, who was incredibly beautiful. She had long, brown hair, and Joanne felt a fluttering in her stomach as she smiled at the audience, baring her pearly whites to the audience.

Joanne closed her eyes, picturing herself kissing the girl on the stage. She felt a pang in her lower stomach, and quickly opened her eyes, blushing.

As the girl continued singing, practically baring her soul with the emotion of the song, Joanne gasped. She had to meet this girl.

Joanne didn't know why, or how, but she fell in love with the girl on the spot. Simple as that.

.x.

"Um, hi, I saw you, um, up on stage.." A pale, blonde and slightly geeky teenage boy walked up to Maureen casually, scratching his neck.

Maureen smiled, wanting to put the poor guy at ease. "I'm Maureen," she said, holding her hand out for him to shake. He took it, slipping his sweaty hand into hers.

"I'm Mark."

Maureen grinned, "So what were you saying about me onstage?"

"Oh, right." Mark blushed even darker. "You were so good. Do you...Do you want to sit with me and my friend Roger? I mean...you don't have to if you don't want to. But, um.."

Maureen smiled, glad to be able to sit somewhere that wasn't with her parents, who were arguing at the moment, too wrapped up in themselves to even notice their daughter. "Sure! I'd love to."

Maureen sat with Mark and Roger, fitting in with the boys almost immediately. She learned that Mark and Roger were both sixteen, the same age as her. Mark's sister was having her Bat Mitzvah party in a few days.

"You're Jewish?" She said, surprised.

Mark nodded. "Extremely."

Maureen laughed, nodding her head up and down. "Well, we have a lot in common. I'm from Syosset. It's on Long Island. What about you?"

"We're from Scarsdale," Mark said, gesturing to both himself and Roger.

"Oh, okay..." Maureen said thoughtfully, wondering where the hell that was.

They chattered aimlessly for an hour; Maureen bantering with Roger a bit. Mark, the geeky blond, seemed to have a bit of a crush on her. It was pretty evident-- judging by the way he'd look at her and smile, or blush.

It was flattering.

When Mark's mom walked up and told the boys that they had five minutes until they were going back to their rooms, they all made plans to meet up by the pool the next day.

.x.

__________________________________________________

**That was chapter one. Like it? Hate it? Review it. Next chapter, we'll meet both Collins and Angel! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: Thanks so much for your reviews!! :D You all make me so happy...do me a favor and review again? Pretty please? **

**So, I forgot to thank my beta, last chapter (who is out-of-town right now...so there may be some serious grammar mistakes in this chapter! Haha), The Last Truffula Tree, for making my stories beauuuutiful. =)**

**I'm sorry if you were under the impression that your beta is the best beta in the world...well, you are gravely mistaken, because MY beta is the best. So.**

**I don't own RENT. You all know that!**

**Chapter 2**

xoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"Collins, hurry up!"

Mitch turned around, his hands on his hips. He waved his arms, annoyed at Collins, who was carrying three of his heavy bags. Mitch, however, had no bags in his hands; he carried only a pair of expensive sunglasses.

Tom Collins rolled his eyes, dragging his feet behind him. Finally, they reached the giant pool. Collins couldn't believe a _cruise _needed such a huge pool-- they were already in the middle of the ocean. Most things on this ship seemed like a big waste of money, though, and again, Collins was glad that he wasn't paying for it.

As usual, he had been invited along with Mitch and his parents.

It wasn't that Collins was ungrateful for the free trip-- in fact, he was excited to be going on a cruise with his best friend and object of his affections for more than two years now.

He didn't know what Mitch was to him anymore, which was...confusing, at best. Mitch was great at playing mind games with him, but Collins believed that somewhere, deep down, Mitch felt the same.

"Over here!" Mitch called, happy to have found a spot at the crowded pool. Collins looked across to the other end of the pool; it was so huge, he could hardly see the people on the other side.

He set Mitch's things down next to one of the chairs, getting a towel out of one of the bags. He laid it on Mitch's chair, and the other boy grinned and stood up.

Collins tried not to stare as Mitch took all of his clothes off, leaving him in only a pair of swim trunks. His eyes scanning his friend's buff, tanned body. Collins drew in a breath, remembering why he liked Mitch so much.

"I'm going in," Mitch said with a wink, jumping into the pool. His head popped out from underwater, and he looked expectantly at Collins.

"Well? Are you coming?"

Collins looked around nervously. He had never learned to swim. Being from New York City, constant swimming wasn't exactly one of his pastimes as a kid. Mitch, on the other hand, had taken private swimming lessons from a young age. His parents were loaded.

"Hello?" Mitch waved at Collins and shook his head. "God, Col. You're like, brain-dead today."

Mitch didn't know that Collins had never been swimming. Collins didn't want Mitch to know that he had never been swimming. Therefore, there was only one thing to do.

"Ready or not, here I come," he said to himself, closing his eyes and leaping off of the deep-end.

The last thing he saw was Mitch getting out of the pool, but it was too late as he sank to the bottom.

.x.

Angel Dumott-Schunard lounged on a chair, soaking up the sun's glorious rays and reading a magazine. His head snapped up as he heard a strangled, muffled noise, followed by a frantic splashing sound.

It looked like someone was drowning!

Nobody else seemed to be paying attention, including the lifeguard, who appeared to be reading the newspaper. The person who had been splashing at the surface moments ago was now sinking to the bottom of the pool.

Angel gasped, jumping up and walking to the edge of the pool. He dived in, feeling the sting as he opened his eyes underwater. A tall, gangly boy was frantically splashing around underwater, his eyes open wide. Angel reached out and grabbed his hand, and with all of the strength he possessed, Angel pulled him to the surface.

As they both came up for air, the boy gasped, his eyes wide as he tried to fill his lungs with oxygen again. Angel helped him make it out of the pool in one piece, bringing him over to the chair he'd been sitting on before.

"You okay, Honey?" He asked, concerned, as the boy caught his breath.

Finally, the boy looked up, and into Angel's eyes. Angel gasped quietly, shocked by the gorgeous, sparkling brown eyes of the once-drowning boy.

He looked to be about Angel's age, maybe a bit older. He was tall, and Angel couldn't help but check out his toned, dark pecs.

"Yeah. Thank you. You...you saved me." He looked at Angel with such gratefulness-- Angel just wanted to give him a hug. "I'm Angel," he said, holding out his hand for the other boy to take.

"Tom-- Tom Collins. Friends just call me Collins." The boy whose name was Collins gave him a weak smile, shaking Angel's hand for longer than was customary.

Angel didn't mind, though. He just kept on staring into those gorgeous eyes...

"So you can't swim, huh?" Angel joked, and Collins sighed, nodding, his hand still resting comfortably in Angel's. "I'm from New York. There aren't exactly beaches nearby, so...I never actually learned," he said, blushing a little bit.

"It's okay. It's easy, really. You know, you could learn and be good at it in no time. In fact-"

"Collins?" Mitch's voice pulled Collins out of his reverie. His head snapped up, and he took in the sight of his slightly perturbed friend.

"Hmm?" Collins said dumbly.

"Where were you? I wanted to introduce you to these chicks...They're pretty hot." He winked, and Collins frowned. Mitch flirted with everything that moved.

Angel spoke up from beside him. "So this is your friend?" He asked Mitch, gesturing to a soaked Collins.

Mitch nodded, pursing his lips in an almost territorial way. "Yeah."

"Then why weren't _you _there to save him, instead of sitting on your ass, flirting with girls?"

Mitch raised an eyebrow. "Dude, listen. I was just-"

"Don't call me dude!" Angel snapped. "Collins could have died!"

Mitch rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. Collins, come on."

Collins looked from his best friend to the boy who had saved his life. Begrudgingly, he stood up. "Thank you so much for saving me, Angel," he said sincerely, wishing that he could just stay sitting there with the boy.

Mitch smiled. "There. See?"

Angel ignored him, half-smiling at Collins. "It was no problem, Honey," he sighed, wishing that Collins would stay with him and not go back with this other boy, who seemed to have some sort of control over him.

With one last glance at Angel, and his long eyelashes and deep, brown eyes, Collins turned, following Mitch to the other side of the pool, where two teenage girls waited.

The first one grinned at Collins in a friendly way. She had curly, brown hair that fell around her shoulders. She wore a forest green bikini, which set off her hazel eyes. She was very pretty, Collins noticed, and he didn't usually think girls were attractive.

The other girl smiled shyly. She had caramel skin and long, thick, almost black hair that fell down her back. She was quite obviously Latina. This girl wore a red-and-white patterned bikini.

"Collins," Mitch said, pulling on his hand to bring him closer to the group. "This is Maureen," he gestured to the pretty brunette, "and Mimi," he pointed to the Latina.

Collins smiled politely, his gaze wandering back to Angel, who was sitting at a table, reading. "Nice to meet both of you."

.x.

**Coming up in the next chapter...Mark and Roger meet Mimi and Collins; Maureen meets Joanne; and Collins finds out something interesting about Angel. **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**.x.**

**A/n: don't be mad, okay? I'm really sorry about the time in-between updates...that was mean. I'd like to thank all of the lovely people who reviewed, it made me smile! :D And you can expect more from me, now that I've gotten my laptop back. And my wifi, 'cause that was gone, too. But I'm back! That is, if you're still reading!**

**Cookies to all, (and an extra-long chapter) for the wait! :)**

**I don't own RENT, just one second-row ticket to see it Saturday :D**

______________________________________________

"So, um...What are you two doing on this cruise?" Collins asked, eager to fill the silence.

Maureen shrugged. "Birthday 'surprise' from my dad. He's an ass though, all I wanted was a car. But a cruise? Eh, not on the top of my list. He thought we could 'bond'."

Collins nodded knowingly. He and his own father weren't exactly close.

Mimi sighed, stretching her legs out in the water. "I came here with my cousin. His parents won this trip from some raffle."

Collins nodded at Mimi. "What about you?" She asked curiously.

Furrowing his brows, Collins was about to speak, when Mitch interrupted him smoothly. "Collins and I came with my parents. He's just my guest."

Mitch winked at Maureen, and Collins's jaw dropped. He wanted to scream, _Hello? Mitch? It's me, your best friend, and...sort of...something else?_

_Well, it was possible._

A few minutes later, Mitch's cell phone rang, playing some obnoxiously popular rap song that Collins only tolerated.

"Hello?" Mitch said clearly, and he furrowed his brows. "A Pilates class? Oh, sure, mom. Sounds wonderful."

He snapped the phone shut, looking at the group distractedly. "Well, it seems I'm being summoned to some sort of fitness class." He winked at Maureen again, who visibly shuddered.

Collins started after him, but Mitch shook his head. "Sorry, Col. Members only." He shrugged, waving goodbye to the group of newly acquainted friends.

"Maureen?" A scrawny, pale teenage boy and his blond friend walked up to the group. The pale boy smiled with relief when he saw Maureen. "There you are. You disappeared on us!"

Maureen rolled her eyes, though only Collins saw. "Hey, Mark."

"Oh, who's this?" He asked her, looking at Collins suspiciously. Maureen chuckled. "This is Collins, our new friend. And this," she gestured to the Latina, "is Mimi." Mark nodded at her.

"I'm Mark," he said, shaking her hand, and managing a smile at Collins.

"What's your name?" Collins asked the blond guy, but he was too busy staring at Mimi.

"Hello?" Collins waved a hand in front of the blond's face, and he finally snapped out of his trance. "R- Roger."

"Hi, R-Roger. Name's Collins."

Roger wasn't paying attention, though. His eyes were gazing into Mimi's, and the Latina had a small smile on her face.

"It's nice to meet you," she said to Roger, and he grinned. "You too."

"Well," Mark looked at the group awkwardly. "How old is everyone? I'm sixteen, and so is Maureen. Roger, too. How old are you, Collins?"

Only Collins saw Maureen's glare as Mark spoke for her.

"I'm seventeen," he said, sneaking a glance at the faraway Angel, who was still reading a magazine.

"And what was with that weird guy you were with?" Maureen chimed in.

Collins sighed. "That....was Mitch."

Maureen nodded. "Uh-huh..."

"I'm sort of in love with him," Collins said, deciding that he'd say it quickly, like pulling a band-aid off of a wound. Besides, if these kids couldn't accept him, he wouldn't mind so much. After all, he wouldn't see any of these people again in his life, after this week.

Maureen smiled sympathetically at his obviously hopeless choice of crush. "You're gay? That's awesome."

Mark shrugged indifferently, his eyes on Maureen's ass. Mimi wrenched herself away from her conversation with Roger for a moment. "You're gay? Really?"

Collins nodded, looking down.

"Huh," Mimi said, eyeing him up and down. "You don't _look _gay."

Maureen glared at Mimi. "Yeah, well, lots of gay people don't look gay."

"That's cool, though!" Mimi said, ignoring Maureen's comment. "My cousin's gay. Actually, he's on this cruise, too. I should introduce you!" Her face lit up, but Collins shook his head.

"No, thanks. I've got Mitch."

Maureen rolled her eyes. "You have _got_ to be kidding. You deserve better."

Collins gave her a small smile. "If you knew him..." He trailed off.

Mimi shrugged. "Well, if you change your mind, his name is Angel, and he's _adorable." _

Collins's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that name. Angel. The same name as the boy who had saved his life just a few minutes ago. Mimi must have noticed his expression of surprise, and mistook it for interest.

"Yeah! He's sitting right over there!" She pointed to Angel.

As in _Angel, _Angel.

So _he _was gay, too? Collins smiled to himself. Things were about to get very interesting.

_______________________________________________

Maureen tried to ignore Mark's wiry arm, which was wrapped around her waist. It didn't feel right, not like how it was supposed to feel-- or at least like how they described it in books and movies.

She really, really wanted to like Mark; he was such a sweetheart, and kind to her. But she couldn't help but sometimes be _really _annoyed by the things he said. Or did.

As she watched Roger and Mimi fall in love down at the six-foot deep end (Mimi was teaching Roger how to do a backstroke), Maureen, Mark and Collins stayed safely in the shallow end of the pool.

She tried to ignore the arm, she really did. But when the hand attached to it started to rub her back slightly, Maureen wrenched out of Mark's grasp, instinctively. Mark gave her a questioning look, but kept his hands to himself after that.

After a few minutes, Maureen continued watching Roger and Mimi, and it made her think.

_Damn, _she thought, _I need an adventure this week. _The next hot guy that came by, Maureen, decided, would be her soulmate, and they would fall in love and kiss on the deck of the boat during a sunset, and go out to fancy dinners together.

She just knew it had to happen.

She watched as an old, forty-something man walked by in a yellow speedo. _Okay, no. definitely not him._

Two other men walked by-- one with a hairy chest, and the other a beer gut.

_Crap! _She thought. _It didn't work..._

Maureen sighed loudly. She'd have to learn to like Mark. After all, he obviously liked her. And when she looked at him, really looked at him, she could see a bit of attractiveness. He had lovely eyes, for starters, though they were hidden behind thick-rimmed glasses.

Before she could think of any more nice qualities, a girl about Maureen's age walked by, setting her bag down at a nearby chair. Maureen couldn't help but look the girl up and down, noticing her skimpy white bikini and toned body.

Her skin was the color of milk chocolate, and it contrasted beautifully with her swimsuit. Her frizzy hair fell just to her shoulders, and a pair of aviator sunglasses hid her eyes from Maureen's view.

She didn't know why, but Maureen had to meet this girl. And Maureen often acted on impulse.

Standing up, Maureen shook out her hair, getting out of the pool. She approached the girl, who was already laying out on her chair, reading a book. Maureen looked at the front. _Wuthering Heights. _On a cruise? God, how boring.

The girl finally noticed Maureen, dropping her book in surprise. She lowered her sunglasses, her eyes gleaming with recognition; almost as if Maureen were a celebrity, or something.

"Hi," Maureen chirped, grinning at the girl.

The girl grinned back. "Hi."

"Nice bathing suit," Maureen practically drawled.

The girl smiled shyly, taking in Maureen's own bathing suit. "Thank you."

"What's your name?" Maureen said finally, when the girl didn't add anything else.

"I'm Joanne." The other girl held her hand out for Maureen to shake, and she took it. "Maureen. Nice to meet you."

As Maureen looked at Joanne's gorgeous face again, she realized that she still had Joanne's hand in hers. "Um, whoops," she said lamely. "You're gonna need that back."

Joanne blushed, yanked her hand away, and put it in her lap. "Yeah," she said with a slight laugh.

She reached around her to a small beach bag, pulling out a brown bottle of tanning oil. Maureen looked at it.

"But you're..." She said accidentally, and Joanne laughed. "I'm what? Black?" She laughed again. "I still can get burned, especially with how strong the sun is here. So I wear SPF 15, just in case. You look like you'd need SPF 30," she said matter-of-factly, looking at Maureen's pale arm.

Maureen shrugged. "I don't burn."

Joanne rolled her eyes, squirting some of the oil into her palm. She began rubbing it onto her arm methodically, and Maureen couldn't tear her eyes away from the now-slick mocha skin.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

"I can do that, you know," Maureen said out of nowhere, covering her mouth after she heard herself say it.

Joanne raised an eyebrow. "You can?"

Maureen shrugged. "Well, I mean, you know...If you needed help. I know when I put on tanning oil, I need someone else to do the areas I can't reach."

"I thought you didn't wear any," Joanne smirked. She looked at Maureen for a long time, until she finally spoke again. "It's really hard for me to reach my back. Do you think you could help me out?"

Maureen smiled and grabbed the bottle from Joanne's hands. "Gladly."

"So, umm..." Joanne stood up awkwardly. "How do you want to..."

"You sit down, and I'll..." Joanne sat back down on the long chair, and Maureen sat behind her. Joanne, from between Maureen's legs, turned to look at her.

"Are you sure it's okay? I mean, I don't even know you..."

Maureen smirked. "Jeez, Joanne. You're acting like you've got some sort of disease. Just relax, okay? Everyone is a potential friend. Hell, my best friend, Manda, was a stranger until we started hanging out. And now we're best friends," She rambled on, feeling the need to fill any awkward silences.

Joanne mumbled a reply, though Maureen didn't hear. She was too busy as she began to rub oil onto Joanne's soft skin, trying to ignore the way her stomach clenched oddly.

"How old are you?" She finally asked as she squirted some more of the oil into her palm, regaining control of herself, and her stomach.

.x.

"Sixteen." Joanne focused on breathing in and out, in and out. _Just ignore the beautiful girl who is rubbing oil onto your back and shoulders and...oh my God..._

"Really?" Maureen exclaimed. "Me too!"

Joanne couldn't even believe she was sitting here with the girl who had sung so perfectly, so exquisitely, last night at dinner.

She felt like she knew Maureen, yet the brunette knew nothing of her.

Maureen continued rubbing the oil onto Joanne, working it into her upper arms, and even letting her fingertips linger on the areas close to her breasts.

Joanne felt an unexpected wave of pleasure ripple through her, and she let out an involuntary moan, mentally kicking herself when Maureen's hands stilled for a moment.

Before she could think of what to say, Maureen started again, kneading into her lower back.

Joanne was getting a lot more out of this than an innocent rubbing-oil-on-you-friend's-back thing.

Finally, Maureen stopped rubbing, standing up. Joanne sighed reluctantly. "Thanks," she said, figuring that she should also sit up. "That was nice," she added.

Maureen blushed (_did she really just blush?_ Joanne wondered), then smiled. "You're welcome, Joanne."

_Joanne, _Joanne thought with a smile. _My name sounds so much better when she says it._

"Maureen!" A voice called, and Joanne's head whipped around. A scrawny, dorky-looking guy was heading their way, and Maureen rolled her eyes. "Sorry, that's Mark."

"Oh," Joanne nodded. "Your brother?"

Maureen snorted. "No. Definitely not. But he seems to think...we're a thing. I guess."

Joanne's heart sunk. "Oh."

Maureen turned back toward her, ignoring Mark's calls. "What about you? Do you have a boyfriend at home? Where are you from? What do you like to do? Is that really your natural hair?" Maureen asked, leaning her chin on her palm. Joanne was flattered by the attention, and smiled. Maureen held her gaze for a moment, smiling back. It was a beautiful smile.

"Well, I--"

"Maureen!" Mark called again, and Joanne was ready to get up and punch him in the face.

Maureen scowled. "Hold on, I'll go talk to him."

She approached the blonde boy, making large hand gestures and then resting her hands on her hips. Joanne watched the exchange, hoping that any moment, Maureen would come back to her, sit down, and tell her everything about herself.

Five minutes into the conversation, Maureen turned around, catching Joanne's eye. She smiled apologetically, and Joanne's heart sunk. With that, Maureen turned back toward Mark, following him to the small building on the other side of the pool. He put his hand on her back, opened the door for her, and it closed behind them almost menacingly.

Joanne frowned. _There goes the prospect of any kind of adventure on this cruise, _she thought to herself.

But she was wrong.


End file.
